TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. THE INNER LIFE
Two Journeys
The Route Home
The Fruits of the Contemplative Life

2. CONTEMPLATION–THE NATURAL WAY
A Taoist Twist
The Natural Way
Feeling Our Way Along
True to the Essence

3. CLEARING THE SPACE
Creating Open Space
Letting Go of Structure
Taking Time for Renewal
Honoring the Empty Spaces

4. RETURN TO SIMPLICITY
Simple Pleasures
The Simplicity of Being
Voluntary Simplicity
Holy and Unholy Poverty
A Misunderstanding of Abundance

5. THE MIDDLE WAY
The Capacity for Restraint
Personal Reflection: Gluttony
Exercise: Practicing Restraint
Renunciation Without Pain
The Gifts of Detachment
The Capacity for Enjoyment
The Tao’s Middle Way

6. SOMETIMES TWO, SOMETIMES ONE
The Path of Solitude
Exploration: What it means to be alone
The Path of Conscious Relationship
The Urge to Merge
Sometimes Two, Sometimes On

7. DROPPING INTO SILENCE
Stepping out of Mind-spin
Meditation and Contemplative Prayer
Silence in Nature and in Our Lives
Exercise: Sensing in Nature
Exercise: Drenched in Silence
Silence as Gift